She crossed the stone slabs, the paving cracked and buckled from the tree roots forcing their way through the earth like contorted spines. Surrounded by the array of plants, albeit many now nothing more than bark shells, was like entering a whole other world a hundred miles from urban Blackthorn.
She turned the handle on the single deep-set door. When it didn’t budge on her second or third attempt, she stepped back to examine the two barred windows either side. Either the intention was not to let anyone in, or not to let anything out. She peered inside to see an empty foyer. Ahead to the left was an ajar door. Parallel to the right of it was a passageway leading off into the dark distance.
Strolling around to the far left of the building, she lifted herself onto tiptoes to peer through another barred window. An oak table sat near the far wall, six chairs splayed around it.
Running her hand over the dead climbing plant that encased the stone wall, Sophia continued around to the back. Behind the building was another outhouse beyond, this one derelict. Another barbed-wire-topped chain-link fence stood behind that – the only division between the compound and the demolition site beyond.
And beyond that was the border into Lowtown – the way back to what her life once was. Not that she’d ever get that back. Not that she’d ever–
She slammed to the ground, losing the knife as she broke her fall with her splayed hands.
‘Fuck,’ she hissed beneath her breath, debris grazing her bare knees and palms. She scowled back at the distended root that had been responsible for tripping her.
‘Enjoying your tour?’ a familiar, painfully masculine voice asked.
Chapter Five
J
ask had pursued, so that was most definitely one point to her – even if disapproval emanated from his stance as he stood a few feet away, arms tightly folded.
She reached for the knife, the glint amidst the turf unmistakable. If he hadn’t seen her take it before, he sure knew now.
She pushed herself to her feet and dusted down her grazed knees, flinching as she made contact with the minor wounds. ‘It’s better than sitting in a room full of lycans and experiencing Pavlov’s experiment first-hand. It was putting me off my food.’
She hadn’t meant it to come out so cuttingly. Part of her hadn’t meant for it to come out at all. She glanced at him warily, wondering if maybe she’d overstepped the mark this time.
Jask didn’t just frown, he scowled. ‘I didn’t give you permission to leave the room,’ he stated, unfortunately too matter-of-factly not to pique her irritation.
She placed her hands, the knife, behind her back. She scraped an arc through the dirt with her boot as she tauntingly looked up at him from under purposefully downturned lashes. ‘Does this mean you’re going to threaten me with another spanking?’
The last thing she expected was to see a hint of amusement at the mocked submissive pose.
‘I’m getting the feeling more and more that a hard spanking is exactly what you need. What is it they call that – negative reinforcement?’
Either he meant it, or he was actually
playing
with her. She wasn’t entirely sure she could handle the latter. But whichever, he was definitely making fun of her. And
no one
made fun of her.
She folded her arms to mirror him. ‘But that would show weakness, right, Jask? Relying on your brute strength because you can’t manage me any other way.’ She sauntered past him. ‘What a real let down
that
would be.’
‘If you wanted my undivided attention, you only had to ask,’ he remarked, as her shoulder skimmed his upper arm.
His arrogance, let alone a need to disprove the uncomfortable truth of his words, evoked her to turn and face him as she reached the corner. ‘Most would interpret me leaving the room as wanting anything but.’
‘If you hadn’t decided to take a knife with you, maybe.’
‘This little thing?’ She twirled it tauntingly in her fingers for him to see. ‘I’m hardly going to be doing much damage with this. Not worried are you, Jask?’
He frowned again. ‘Why do you do that?’
‘Do what?’
‘Defy me when you know I can do something about it.’
‘Physically maybe.’ She shrugged. ‘But like I said, what’s impressive about that? You said you could tame me, but what you clearly meant was suppress and oppress me. And you need to learn I don’t respond well to that. Let this be
your
first lesson,’ she said, heading back towards the courtyard.
And also a lesson to her to keep herself focused – not sate her urge to provoke the lycan leader purely to get the upper hand for a few moments.
She had to remind herself of his potential intentions towards Kane Malloy and the implications for Blackthorn. She had to stay on task and not make it personal.
‘You’re going to be here a few days, serryn. So you
will
learn how to behave in my presence.’
A familiar and unavoidable surge of adrenaline flooded her system.
Keep walking, Phia.
But on irritation-induced automatic pilot, she slowly pivoted on her heels.
Jask was leaning against the corner of the building, the resoluteness in his eyes unflinching.
‘How to
behave
? Sorry, Jask – am I not as submissive as your lycan females? Would you rather I bend over now and wait for you to take me at your leisure?’
He raised his eyebrows slightly. Worse, he dared to give her the once-over. ‘You’re a hell of a lot more irritating than lycan females, that’s for sure.’
‘Why, because I stand up to you? Because I’m not afraid to say what I think?’
‘You say that with pride. Honey, five-year-olds say what they think. Knowing what to say and when is called being an adult.’
Something inside her sparked. ‘
Don’t
patronise me.’
‘Then stop scowling at me like some sulky teenager. You look ridiculous.’
Her thoughts flashed back to the female sat beside him in the dining hall. As insecurity flooded her, the spark ignited.
She
had
wanted his attention. And part of her hated herself for that immaturity, let alone the fact he seemed to be picking up on it.
And he had called her ridiculous because of it.
Ridiculous.
She exhaled tersely and turned away to stop herself closing the gap and kicking him hard between the legs. ‘Fuck you, Jask.’
‘My point exactly. One bit of criticism and you retaliate.’
She spun to face him again. ‘Who the
fuck
do you think you are, huh? You may have all of them cowering in fear of you,’ she said, thrusting a pointed finger back towards the main building, ‘but not me,’ she added, slamming her hand to her chest. ‘Arrogant tosser,’ she muttered under her breath as she turned away again.
‘You
really
need to learn some manners, serryn.’
She closed her eyes. Pressed her lips together for a moment. ‘Oh, my apologies,’ she said as she turned to face him just briefly enough to curtsey. ‘Fuck you, Jask,
please
.’
‘I’m willing to let the knife incident go, but walk away from me and there
will
be consequences.’
She stopped again. She didn’t want to. But she did. She turned to face him once more. ‘Is that right?’
He pulled himself away from the wall. ‘I won’t have you talking to me like that.’
‘No?’ She opted to be the one to close the gap between them. ‘Then what are you going to do? Only the way I see it, I’m still alive because you
need
me alive. So is this how it’s going to be? I don’t toe the line so you threaten to punish me? There’s one problem with that,’ she said. ‘I’m likely to enjoy it.’
But, this time, far from looking affronted, even irritated, his eyes glimmered with something else. Something she hadn’t expected to see. Something that told her he was only too willing to test the theory.
She instinctively stood up straight to let her five-foot-seven-inch frame match his stature as best she could as he consumed the personal space left between them.
‘Like you enjoyed me holding you down on the wasteland?’ he asked. ‘Like you enjoyed what I did to you in the shower?’
‘Made you feel good did it – controlling someone half your size?’
‘I didn’t have to restrain you to control you just now though, did I? Yet not only did you stop walking away, you came back.’ His eyes glinted with triumph. ‘I’d call that progress, wouldn’t you?’
Her heart pounded at the intimacy of his proximity.
‘I’ve made my point twice about who’s in charge here, serryn. If you push me, I’ll prove it once and for all.’
Her stomach flipped, the prospect as unforgivably enticing as the lycan who dared utter the threat. ‘You know,’ she said, holding his gaze, tilting her mouth up towards his to regain some semblance of control. ‘This whole alpha leader-of-the-pack thing is sexy enough, but when you get all masterful it’s just too much.’
He almost broke a smile. Almost. ‘You’re not as hard as you like to think you are, little girl. You might play at being tough, but that’s all it is. I saw you crumble when I pinned you down. You can’t handle me any more than you can handle yourself.’
She gazed into his eyes as they searched deep into hers. He smelt dangerously earthy – something between freshly cut grass and humid rain. She hadn’t noticed it before, but now it felt all-consuming. ‘Pin me down again and see.’
‘You’re out of your depth, darling.’
The term of endearment, despite its intention to belittle, still struck her deeper than it should have. ‘And you don’t want me to prove you wrong. I’m so much easier to handle if I’m scared of you, am I not?’
He leaned closer so his lips almost touched hers. ‘You know when I said I tear? I wasn’t kidding.’
‘Tease.’ She lifted her mouth to his, as close as she would dare without physically touching him. ‘I don’t mind not playing gentle. Let’s see if the pack leader is as badly behaved as his reputation dictates. Right here. Right now.’
As their breaths mingled, her stomach clenched, every nerve ending tingled.
But that cold, calm gaze made it all too obvious that he had no attraction towards her. His restraint was insulting. Worse, it was humiliating.
He pulled back with a smile and brushed past her, daring to turn
his
back on
her
. She wanted to ram the knife into his behind just for the arrogance of it.
Just for the pain of his rejection.
For the defeat.
Damn it – round four to her only to have him claim it back again.
She clenched the knife handle tighter as she watched him leave. ‘I actually pity you, locked away here in your cage, spouting your propaganda to your masses!’ she called out. ‘The evidence speaks for itself. The barbed wire. The guards. You’re scared of what’s out there. You’re hiding. Everyone knows it. You may be the big pack leader in your cage, but you’re the vampires’ bitch and bitch to the TSCD, and you know it.’
Jask turned to face her again – a six-foot solid frame of lycan proficiency. That, let alone the look in his eyes, was enough to make her temporarily stop breathing.
But she squared up ready to face his retaliation – the humiliation of his rejection still scorching too deep for her not to.
‘What did you say?’ he asked, his narrowed eyes fixed on hers.
Shut up, Phia. For fuck’s sake, shut up.
But she’d ignored the voice of reason too many times for it to win through on this occasion.
‘You heard me,’ she said. ‘Impenetrable, huh? The powers that be still managed to get to two of your own though, didn’t they? And reveal just what you lycans
really
are beneath the surface. We all know how they butchered Arana Malloy – excuse of no meds or not. And what happened after still proves you’re nothing but a pawn in the big boys’ game and everyone knows it. Putting those responsible away in the safety of the penitentiary when you know you should have dealt with them yourself is evidence enough. That incident didn’t just show the VCU for what they are, it showed what
you
are – doing Kane Malloy’s dirty work for him. Only I didn’t see him in the courtroom, defending what your kind did to
his
sister. You’re clearly twisted around his little finger as much as that agent Caitlin Parish is.’
Jask took a step back towards her. ‘You really think it’s wise to stand there goading me?’
She clenched the knife handle tighter. ‘Struck a nerve, Jask?’
‘Brutal killer though you may be, serryn, you’re nothing but a sex toy in the hands of the right vampire – just remember that. Don’t tempt me into turning you into mine.’
She laughed. She wished to goodness she hadn’t. ‘Really? And how far are you willing to take it? Only you don’t want to start what you can’t finish, Jask. Not with me.’
‘Does every survival instinct not tell you that tempting a predator in his own territory is a really bad move? Or does that serryn arrogance make you numb to it?’
‘Because you
are
tempted, aren’t you, Jask?’
This time he did smile. Only this time the smile was laced with nothing but contempt. ‘Sorry to bitterly disappoint, but I like my females a little more…’ he raked her swiftly, dismissively, ‘mature,’ he said, pulling away again.
‘Yeah, or maybe you don’t know how to finish the job, more likely!’ she yelled after him. ‘You have me right where you want me and you can’t see it through. Guess that comes with being able to lick your own balls, right?’
He stopped.
When he turned to face her again, her stomach jolted, a trail of expletives trampling each other in her head.
‘No need to ask how it’s going,’ Corbin called out, approaching fast from the courtyard.
Jask remained at a standstill, despite the flare of anger still glowing in his eyes, his jaw tense. But it was the way he clenched his hands that troubled her the most. Hands that, despite concealing the talons she had no doubt had emerged, told her she’d messed up big time.
And it was made even more troubling by the concern in Corbin’s eyes as he noticed too.
‘As you can see,’ Jask said to him. ‘She’s still in one piece so I haven’t reached my limit yet.’
She wasn’t so sure.
Neither, seemingly, was Corbin, by the urgency with which he moved in beside him. ‘Not quite the quick taming we were hoping for though?’
‘Temporary setback,’ Jask declared, breaking from her equal glare in a clear attempt to disconnect himself from the moment. ‘Due to an excessive amount of sexual frustration seemingly.’
Further mocking was the last thing she could handle right then. ‘Fuck you!’ Sophia snapped. ‘And your boyfriend!’
Corbin exhaled tersely. ‘No need to ask if you’re ready to exchange rings. That’s some temper she’s got. What did you do to her, Jask?’
‘It’s more a case of what I didn’t do.’ He dared to look back at her. ‘Isn’t that right, honey?’
Embarrassment heated her face. She turned her attention to Corbin. ‘I bet you know how to satisfy a woman, right, Corbin? Only your boyfriend here isn’t up to the job. I’m starting to wonder who the real alpha around here is. You want to show me?’
Corbin’s eyes widened. ‘Wow, sweetheart, you’ve got some nerve.’
‘You think I’m kidding. Don’t worry; pretend-alpha-boy there can watch. He might learn something.’
‘Is she for real?’ Corbin asked, as he and Jask exchanged glances.
Jask folded his arms with a shrug. ‘Like I keep saying – too long chasing vampires. Maybe you should take her up on her offer? Let her know what she’s been missing.’
Her stomach wrenched at Jask’s easy dismissal.
Corbin appraised her swiftly. ‘She’s not my type. Too much to say for herself.’
‘I can silence her for you, if it’s a distraction.’